Chilling out with the hot catches
Nick Whyte

It’s chilling down now and the snapper and bream should start to turn it on. This month should see good numbers of pan-size juvenile snapper on all the reef edges. An early start will see the best results, but make sure you’re rugged up. There have been a few grassy sweetlip, goldspot cod, Maori cod, tuskies and even a few nannygai thrown in the mix.

Fishing lightly-weighted pillies or hardiheads should see some great results, or try some small soft plastics on 1/4oz jigheads. There have also been quite a few juvenile snapper taken on trolled lures. Try using lures that dive between 5-10ft off the bottom. If you’re trolling an edge that’s 25ft deep, run lures that dive to 15-20ft. This will also keep you from getting a lot of snags.

Flathead numbers should really improve this month up in the shallows from the Amity Banks right through the Bay Islands, the mouth of the Logan River and the Jumpinpin area. There will be a lot of school-size fish and these guys love a trolled hardbody or well-presented plastic.

Working depths between 3-6ft and targeting drop-offs or weed edges will see the best results. Try to concentrate on areas holding lots of bait and keep your troll speed to a slow walking pace, just enough to get that lure swimming.

full story »